The present invention relates to a built-in refrigerator with a dispensing device, such as an ice and/or water dispenser, which is accessible through a front dispenser opening of the appliance.
If a refrigerator with such a dispenser opening is intended to be used as a built-in appliance, an opening matching the dispenser opening must be provided in a decor plate acting as a facing for the appliance at its installation location. However, it is difficult to introduce at a later stage an opening in a finished decor plate, whereby the design and/or machining quality of the edges of the opening match those of the outer edges of the plate. A further problem is that the position in which the decor plate is attached to the refrigerator is determined not only by the refrigerator itself, but by the mounting environment. More precisely, the outer edges of the decor plate forming the facing of the refrigerator have to be aligned with the edges of the fronts of adjacent units, and the width of the gap between the decor plate and the fronts of adjacent units should be uniform on all sides. In order to meet these requirements it is generally necessary to provide an adjustable suspension mounting for the decor plate on the refrigerator. If, however, the position of the decor plate has to be adjusted with respect to the fronts of adjacent units, it is generally not possible to precisely align the opening in the decor plate with the dispenser opening.
In order to remedy this problem it is known to fit into the opening of the decor plate, with a certain amount of clearance in relation to said opening, a frame piece that overlaps the edges of the opening formed in the decor plate and which frame piece includes a sleeve that is introduced into the opening of the decor plate and anchored to the built-in refrigerator. The length of such a sleeve must be adapted to the thickness of the decor plate. In the majority of cases the decor plate has a thickness of 19 mm; but double-thickness decor plates are also used. There is therefore a need for a frame piece that can be used with decor plates of varying thickness. A known frame piece that meets this requirement has a sleeve of a length suitable for a unit having a thick front, which sleeve is provided with a predetermined breaking point in order to shorten it and then allow it to be used with a unit having a thinner front. However, this solution has the drawback that the frame piece can be used unmodified only in the less common case where a thick decor plate is used, whereas in the vast majority of cases in which a thinner decor plate is used, the frame piece has only to be made to fit. Furthermore, the manufacture of the known frame piece requires a great deal of material, a part of which in most cases is immediately thrown away during fitting. In addition, there is a risk that the frame piece is damaged during shortening and has to be discarded, so that if no replacement is available, the fitting of the appliance can only be completed after the procurement of a replacement, which results in considerable costs and is irksome for the user.